Local investments are steadily increasing in Georgia despite the fact FDIs have decreased, announced Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava today, commenting on the 53.7 per cent drop in the second quarter of 2019 in FDIs compared to the same period of last year.

Georgian investments are steadily increasing and it is very important for me, as the minister of economy of Georgia, that despite political instability, Georgian investors and entrepreneurs, believe that the Georgian economy is attractive and invest money in their own businesses”, Turnava said.

She noted that foreign investments are also important for the country and pointed to the fact that the Georgian government has already accumulated a very attractive 3.5 billion GEL ($1.18/€1.07 billion) investment portfolio in 2019.

This investment portfolio includes projects in the energy and processing industries that are going to begin operations soon or have already done so and which will be reflected in next year’s statistics.

Among the major new investment projects, Turnava pointed out the Namakhvani HPP project, the construction of which will begin by the end of the year, at a cost of one billion US dollars, as well as the recently opened electric car manufacturing factory in Kutaisi.

Turnava said that the partial decline in FDIs is a result of the postponement of the Anaklia Deep Sea port.

From 2017 we have been looking forward to investing in [Anaklia Deep Sea Port project]. Unfortunately, however, at the request of the consortium, we had to postpone it once again. Otherwise, it would be a very solid investment for this year’s [FDI] statistics”, Turnava said.

Foreign direct investments in Georgia decreased by 53.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2019 and amounted to $187 million, Geostat reported earlier today.

$187 million is the lowest amount of FDIs since 2009.

Ten years ago, in the second quarter of the year after the 2008 Russia-Georgia war and the global financial crisis, foreign direct investments amounted to $178.3 million.